Fixed Ops Journal - October 2020 - F4

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

NO EASY TASK

Updating service lane's tech means finding right software, rallying all advisers

DAN
SHINE

B

ack in March, I visited Tucson
Subaru to see how they've used
iPads in their express service
lane to improve efficiency. (See
dan.shine@crain.com
story, Page 15).
Fixed Ops Journal
Service director Scott Gregg believes the
editor
technology works well with his young
express advisers, and he wants to roll it out
across the entire department.
But Gregg knows he faces a daunting task to persuade his more
experienced advisers to adopt this new way of doing things. They're not
all Luddites, but Gregg knows some of them will have to be dragged
kicking and screaming into the modern world.
While his initial focus was on getting his express advisers comfortable
with the tablets, Gregg has turned his attention to finding the right
software and preparing his older advisers for the inevitable change.
So far, every platform he's looked at has drawbacks, which will slow
things down and result in his older advisers looking for a shortcut

PAGE 4

OCTOBER 2020

around the system. "And then you're not getting your money's worth
out of it," he says.
The current set of express service software "would be OK to get the
repair order started, but it's not going to get [the experienced advisers]
where they need to be as far as talking about what's going to be on a 60, 90
or 120k timing belt, things like that," Gregg says. "For somebody that's
been doing it for 25 years, if I were to say, 'Here, you're going to use this
thing' they'd say 'No, I'm not. I could have written the book on this thing.' "
Failure, so far, to find the right program to integrate with the store's
DMS is what is delaying the full use of iPads across the service lane.
What he is trying to avoid is changing his dealership management
system, something he
admits is "a pain." But for
the right software, "one
that can be customized to
outline the processes I
want my advisers to
follow," he is willing to do
just about anything.
Gregg acknowledges
that "change is always
hard." He continually talks
about using tablets with
his team; it's not always a
comfortable conversation.
"Of course, there is
At Tucson Subaru, technicians in the
pushback, but everyone
express service lane use iPads.
knows that around here
you have a choice: You can make it work or you can be promoted to a
customer" - Gregg's way of saying they'd be fired.
But instead of playing the heavy, Gregg prefers to rally his troops
behind the idea that the iPad is better for them and for the dealership in
the long run. It appears to be working. When we spoke a couple of
weeks ago, Gregg says his team now "seems pretty open to it." He thinks
everyone on the service lane will be using a tablet by the end of the first
quarter of 2021.
His months-long lobbying efforts caused Gregg to call upon his more
than 40 years of automotive experience and wisdom to get his staff to
come around to his way of thinking.
"I don't really like to say you don't have a choice," he says. "I prefer to
get them engaged, strategize with them about how we can make the
implementation as painless as possible and obtain their buy-in.
"That way, they will take it, make it their own and make it work."
Fixed Ops Journal - October 2020

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